We went to a wedding.

And forgot the camera!

But I did play around with a fun app on my new Android phone.

It was a 1920s theme so I tried to play around with some of the photo effects.

My mom and dad with the bride.

My cousin Maddie and her new husband Paul are actors. They have recently moved from New York City to L.A. We are praying they make it big!

 Dave and Katie.

 Neva and Granddad.

It was fun catching up with family from my dad's side that we don't get to see that often!

Congrats to Maddie and Paul!

Hello Summer.

Oh, hello. 

I haven't written in a week and that is because summer is being so good to me!

This past weekend we went to the beach with my mom and dad.  My mom and I sat in the sand and ate snowcones and it was SO. GOOD.  The weather was perfect.  Patrick went golfing with my dad.  They were so proud of themselves because they hit up a "father-son special" at one of the courses.

On Tuesday we had a birthday party.

Carolyn turned 40!

So we gave her a proper American birthday.

Complete with homemade pizza and limeade.

And then on Wednesday, I had to work :(

I went to a school conference.

It wasn't that bad.

But I did spend all day Thursday being lazy.

Just to make up for it :)

Summer has been so good!

Summer At Last

If you hear the Hallelujah chorus around noon tomorrow it's because I will be officially done with school!

::cue the dance music and shouts of joy::

Free at last!

On the eve of this summer vacation, I have celebrated what is coming by getting a pedicure with my best friend, not cooking dinner, taking a walk with my husband, not grading papers, staying up until 11:30, reading for pleasure, and not doing laundry.

I have plans to not have plans this summer.

We are leaving for a long but too short weekend at the beach on Friday.

We will be taking a long weekend trip to Washington, D.C. in July.

I will be working for five days on a project with our school system.

Other than that, I have no plans.

The world is my oyster.

It's going to be so good, people.

Here are some things that I hope happen:

1. Cooking dinner on a regular basis.

2. Reading for at least an hour every day.

3. Taking multiple walks with my sweet husband.

4. Sleeping in A LOT.

5. Running

I hope I am not being too ambitious.

Hello Monday.

Here is what I could use on this Monday morning:

Perfect Iced Coffee by The Pioneer Woman.

Summer is so close I can taste it!

*Asheville post coming soon.  We had SUCH A GOOD TIME.

Birthday Girl

I think I forgot to mention that someone had a birthday this weekend.

Happy Birthday to our beautiful Isabelle!

We are so thankful for your sweet personality and your wonderful sense of humor.

You are so smart!  You keep us all on our toes.

Our family is so blessed to you in it.

(And thank you for being born exactly one week after your Uncle Patrick and I were married.  We can keep track of our anniversaries by your age!)

We always love an excuse for cake.  Some of us more than others...



I think at one point I told him he couldn't get in the pool until he had finished his cookie.  He stuffed the whole thing in his mouth in one fell swoop.  Then, before the pool thing even happened, he got distracted by the cake...

Our Weekend Keeps Going

I needed a STRONG cup of coffee this morning.  I made the good stuff.  The expensive stuff. The Kona.  We only break it out in cases of emergency tiredness. 

It was hard to face the reality of school this morning, even if it is the last full week.  Our weekend was so full of goodness and summer that it was hard to believe we still had to come back!

We spent Friday night at a cookout with our church family.  I love these people.

On Saturday morning our cheerleaders had another car wash.  Good times and hot sun.  I got a little burnt!

(photo by Hannah McKinney Keen, my friend and lovely cheerleading co-coach)

We also attended a company cookout for Patrick's work and a graduation party for my cousin! 

(No pictures, boo.)

And on Sunday, we visited with a cousin whom I never get to see and his family.  We also celebrated my grandfather's 79th birthday! 

We only turned on the TV to curl up on the couch for a movie on Saturday night. 

I think every other waking second was spent outside. 

 Pure and incredible bliss.

I <3 Weekends.

And do you want to know a secret?  We are SO cheating.  We are leaving this afternoon (before school is even out!) for a night away in Asheville, North Carolina.  I have a substitute for tomorrow.  I will come back on Wednesday and review for these crazy exams and that will be it!  I am so giddy; I feel like a kid on Christmas!  I am so excited for our little excursion.  We have big plans to eat at the same restaurant we LOVED on our honeymoon and to hit up a Mumford and Sons concert with a group of friends! 

Oh, it's going to be so good.

Dreaming A Little.

A few ideas for inspiration this Sunday afternoon before the last full week of school!
(Click on the links below each picture to take you to the actual posts for these things.)

Fabric covered flower pots. 

Ricotta cheese chocolate chip muffins. 

I love this patio. 

Do you think I could make a quilt? Hmm... 

Refashioning a dress from the thrift store into something so cute!

And a good read for my last full week of work before summer break:

12 Ways to Glorify God at Work 

Happy Sunday!  Happy dreaming!

To Struggle with Silence.

My students are having a Reading Day today and it is quiet.  I mean QUIET.  This is a rare thing in a ninth grade classroom.  And the ironic part is that it is so hard for me, at first, to have the room this way.  It feels too awkward, like there should be background music, and in my head I debate about whether to turn on Pandora through the speakers to break the silence.  But then I think, No.  Often our lives are so filled with noise that we miss our own thoughts. 
We miss just sitting and being still for even a little bit. 

Some of my students have no quiet in their lives at all.  They have crazy home lives, crazy parents, crazy situations, and their lives are an unending blare of noise and activity. 

For some of them, this may be the only peace they get.

So, on this Friday afternoon, before the weekend at home, we are sitting and we are reading and we are quiet.  A few of them have finished and have their head down, and that is ok with me.  There has not been a single complaint and I have not had to ask even one of them to sit still or stop whispering. 

They need this quiet.  We need this quiet. 

Project Garden: Moving Right Along

Sweet, Sweet Weekend

We celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a little "staycation."  We went to a very nice, local hotel and spent two nights.  It was pretty much just as good as getting away!  We slept in, watched lots of movies, strolled through the city, ordered dessert with abandon, and caught up on "us."

 Saturday afternoon we took a walk over to downtown and had some lunch at a little Italian restaurant.

 Then we strolled through the farmers' market.

My college roommate called and was in town,

so Patrick went back to the hotel to take a nap

while I met her for some frozen yogurt.

 Saturday night we met my entire family for dinner.

Then we came back to the room, watched a movie and ate cheesecake.  Yum!

We had brunch on Sunday and came on home.

I lounged by the pool and the girls from my Bible Study came over to hang out.

Monday we slept in and went up to Floyd to our family campsite.  We spent the day sitting in the shade, driving around in the golf cart, and chatting.  It was such a lovely and LONG weekend!  We needed the rest and were happy to have such a great little break.